WHAT IF GOD
HAD NOT TURNED LOT’S WIFE INTO A PILLAR OF SALT?

After visiting Sodom and Gomorrah, God had no doubt that the cities had
reached the point of no return. The two cities were, therefore, condemned to
total annihilation and only Lot his wife and two daughters would have escaped.
The warning to Lot and his wife and daughters was undeniably explicit: “ Escape
for thy life; look not behind thee neither stay thou in all the plain; escape to
the mountain lest thou be consumed” (Genesis 19:17). Unfortunately, Lot’s wife
dared to disregard the angelic warning, looked back “…and she became a pillar of
salt” (V. 26).

But what if God had shown her mercy and had allowed her to go on without
punishing her? Certainly, that would have put into focus God’s patience and
mercy, and it would have definitely prevented the scoffers from insinuating that
the Judeo-Christian God is not a God of love.

Was Lot’s wife simply committing a small act of disobedience? Was she,
perhaps, simply looking back because she was distraught over her children that
were left behind and about to be destroyed?

Unless Jesus Christ had brought meaning into this event, it might have
seemed perplexing. Having been present, Christ beheld the events as they
happened and was fully aware of Lot’s wife’s true motives. Thus, He warns
Christians at the end of times to “Remember Lot’s wife” (Luke 17:32).

Why should Christians “remember Lot’s wife”?
Just like Sodom and Gomorrah, before Christ’s return, the world will be
saturated with evil. Christians are warned to come out of the world and not be a
part of it. God warns in the last book of the Bible: “Come out of her my people
that you be not partakers of her sin, and that you receive not of her plagues”
(Rev. 18:4). To be “partakers of her sins” means partaking of the horrendous
destruction that will befall sinful humankind at the end of times.

The warning is again explicit. Come out of sin and do not desire to
return to it. He who loves the world is the enemy of God (James 4:4) and, thus,
a friend of Satan. Not heeding such a command means bringing upon oneself
terrible consequences—like Lot’s wife.

Christ’s warning to remember Lot’s wife is a warning for us not to long
for the sinful world we left behind. Lot’s wife was not simply looking back at
Sodom out of curiosity, or only because she was distraught and made a fatal
mistake. Lot’s wife did not want to leave Sodom and its sinful ways. Her carnal
mind had grown accustomed to the pleasures that Sodom had to offer. She had
become a part of it and regretted leaving it behind.

How much had Sodom affected Lot’s wife? We do not know. We do know that
she had lived among degenerates, that she had been influenced by them and did
not seem to mind. The New Testament tells us that while in Sodom Lot “…was vexed
with the filthy conversation of the wicked” (II Peter 4:7), but there is no
mention that his wife felt the same way. Could it be that Lot stayed in Sodom as
long as he did because she wanted to stay and felt perfectly comfortable in it?

It may be meaningful to note that the verse that follows Peter’s
description of Lot’s anguish over the sins of the Sodomites, also addresses
God’s attitude towards two different kinds of people: the righteous and the
unrighteous. “The Lord knoweth how to deliver the godly out of temptations and
to reserve the unjust unto the Day of Judgment to be punished”(II Peter 2:
9).

All indications are that Lot (The godly) was delivered, while his wife
(The unjust), was punished. God is consistent throughout time. He warns the
unjust and then intervenes if they are beyond redemption. Lot’s wife was
beyond redemption.

If God had not
punished Lot’s wife, a piece of Sodom would have remained alive. A being
infected with sin would not have been dealt with. Rebellion would have gone
unpunished. This would have served to further encourage Lot’s wife to maintain
her sinful ways and to disregard God’s commands and warnings. God’s word would
have been of little worth and His impatience with arrogant sinners would no have
been emphasized.

God did intervene because Lot’s wife deserved her punishment. She was
a representative of a society saturated with sins. She also was an example of
moral degeneracy and rebellion that we must not emulate. Let’s therefore heed
Christ’s warning and let’s “remember Lot’s wife.”